Sorrows of Young Werther

Romantic literature champions the beauty of the world and the inherent goodness of human beings, and Romantic verse is highly structured and

Romanticism is an intellectual, spiritual, and literary movement that begins at the start of the nineteenth century and concludes at the beginning of the twentieth century. Of the many characteristics that are associated with Romanticism, the characteristics that are most evident in literature from this period are the characteristics of individuality and imagination. The author Edgar Allen Poe exhibits these characteristics in his works “The Black Cat”, and the “The Raven”.

The Romantic Period is characterized as an artistic and intellectually stimulating literary movement. Writers of this genre and time are considered to be those who fused the elements of romance in their writings to enhance the human experience. Edgar Allan Poe, known as the father of the modern short story, epitomizes this notion in his writings. In “Annabel Lee,” and “The Oval Portrait,” Edgar Allan Poe uses romance to illustrate the essence of death and misery and to illustrate elements in which the reader can actually feel that was is happening in the story is happening to them.

Often thought of as the epitome of Romanticism, Goethe’s Faust details the adventures of It’s hero that can be thought of to represent the turmoil that was grasping European society in the years of late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Faust can be viewed as a romantic hero because of his attitude and the progression of his character throughout the story and runs nearly parallel with what was happening around Europe at the time Goethe transpired this play. Faust offers a transition from the cold realization of the Enlightenment to a warm comfort that came to be described as Romanticism. Faust shows a way to express how he deals with morals and all the learning along the way in order to feel fulfillment or belonging, while also shadowing a mindset that European society was struggling to deal with after their world found reason to no longer be a spark for their overall culture of life.

| |of forbidden love and the quest to keep it alive. The reader seems to |

And yet she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!

The Romantic Era began in Germany during the 19th century and greatly influenced literature, art, and music as a reaction to rationalism. Romanticism valued feeling and intuition as oppose to the early Enlightenment ideas of reason in the 18th century. Most importantly, Romantics viewed life as they would like it to be and believed that imagination and emotion were more important than rational thought. Human nature refers to the distinguishing characteristics, and behavioral traits in which all humans tend to share amongst one another. This is portrayed in several different works of literature in the 1800s including Eldorado, Minister’s Black Veil and The Devil and Tom Walker. The authors of these stories and poems both convey different characteristics of human

Romantic literary texts focus on the expression of emotion. Authors during the Romantic period developed and integrated the idea of the individual being the main focus in life. Romantic authors focused on the individual being at the center of their own happiness and destiny and evil dwelling outside mankind. Dark Romantics believed that evil is not only found in nature and in other people but evil also dwells inside every human being. Dark Romantics argued that earlier writers had ignored the darker side of

Dark Romanticism illustrates the subgenre of Romanticism and it often explores man’s capacity for malevolence. Edgar Allen Poe is one the writers of Dark Romanticism and in his story, “The Tell-Tale heart”, he explores humanity’s propensity to commit sin. The story is based on the concept of sin and apathy, as the narrator tries to convince the reader that he is nervous, not mad. Dark Romanticism consists in showing man’s malevolent nature and engages with the concept of man’s darkness. Therefore, in the “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the narrator’s evil actions demonstrate the story’s inclusion in the genre-specific of Dark Romanticism.

The Romantic movement throughout Europe was in response to the rationalism and Enlightenment movement of the 18th century. This time period was seen as a Segway between two time periods, the Enlightenment and the Romantic movement, creating a conflict between cultures. Whereas most of Europe was transitioning into a time of Romanticism, German culture didn’t accept the movement until later 1790’s, due to the thought that it was undermining the national identity. It wasn’t until a new generation decided to break away from established tendencies in the culture and focus on the unique experiences of the individual. Goethe previously encourages the movement in the development of the Faust figure which in many ways reflects change and Romanticism. The new modern age of the Romantics distrusted the Enlightenment views of reason as the supreme guiding force of human action and they sensed a new age was dawning.

Imagine a candle-lit dinner on a starry night in Paris, the Eiffel Tower just in view with dazzling lights shining into the night. This image is probably what you think of when you hear the word “romantic,” correct. However, this image is a stumbling block when people think of the “Romanticism Period” in literature. Where “romantic” means having a lovely time with the person you love the most, “Romanticism” is a piece of literature written with key themes in mind. Those themes tend to be a strong emotion, imagery or worship of nature, and individuality and subjectivity. The peak of inspiration for these pieces was in the years 1800-1850, and there are famous poems that are well loved today from this period. Many of the poets that you enjoy reading and know are, in actuality, Romanticism writers, and instill the themes above in our minds.

The concept of how love blinds in Shakespeare’s, A Midsummers Night’s Dream is significant in viewing the fact how the ‘eyes of love’ are not always rational. When eyes and sight

Love conquers all, or at the very least, that’s what many romance novels want people to believe. A Secret Sorrow by Karen van der Zee, which tells the tale of Faye and her struggle to commit to Kai after an accident leaves her unable to reproduce, is a perfect example of this. “The Sorrowful Woman” by Gail Godwin, on the other hand, is a dark fairy tale about a woman whose life is only made worse by marriage and motherhood. At first glance, these stories may seem completely different. On further examination, A Secret Sorrow and “A Sorrowful Woman” share both similarities and differences in tone, theme, and gender roles that lead to the latter story being a much better piece of literature.

In the literary `movements' of neo-classicism and romanticism, Voltaire's Candide and Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther represent the literary age in which they were written. In the following composition, textual evidence will be provided to demonstrate how each book accurately represents either the neo-classicism age or the romanticism age. Candide and The Sorrows of Young Werther will be examined separately, and then examined together. After, a discussion about how each age seems to view the nature of man and the significance of moral and spiritual values will be presented. Also, a personal interpretation of the conclusion of each book will be given. Lastly, quotes

In The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, Lotte has been seen as responsible for Werther’s fate. There are many ways through which Lotte’s behavior around Werther fuels his romantic obsession with her. Lotte continuously shows inappropriate affections towards Werther throughout the novel. Examples which show her affection for him are dancing the Waltz, the gift of the pink ribbon, and the bird beak kissing incident. Lotte leads Werther to believe she loves him by touching his hands, gazing at him, calling him “dear,” she entices him as well by requesting that he come to visit with her daily. Readers can also see Lotte’s improper affections towards him when she does not respond to Albert’s request that she stop seeing