Literature – A Mirror Of Society Essay, Research Paper
The literature of a country is affected and influenced by how
the people of that country live. This paper will prove that The
French Revolution greatly influenced 19th Century French Romanticism.
First, the cultural values of the revolution will be identified.
Then, the different aspects of Romanticism will be presented. The
cultural values of The French Revolution and Romanticism will then be
linked. Finally, literary examples will be shown to support this
connection between the two movements.
Before the Revolution, the citizens of France lived in a
strict, confined society with no freedom to express their feelings.
Government had imposed strong, unfair laws on the common people
(Compton?s Interactive Encyclopedia ?French Revolution?). They
wanted a voice in a stable government with a strong economy (Johnson
105) and a strong sense of individuality and independence within the
people. (Moss and Wilson 180)
Eighteenth- century literature was much like the society in
which it was produced, restrained. Society was divided into
privileged and unprivileged classes, (Leinward 452) with Eighteenth-
century writers focusing on the lives of the upper class. (Thompson
857) These writers followed ?formal rules?(Thorlby 282), and based
their works on scientific observations and logic (Thompson 895).
The Revolution gave the common people and writers more freedom
to express feelings and stimulated them to use reason. According to
Thompson, The Revolution ?had a major impact on Nineteenth- Century
European Life.? (895) It sent a strong wave of emotion and revival
throughout France (Peyre 59). This lead to new laws and ezdards for
the citizens, including newer, less imposing literary ezdards.
Romanticism marked a profound change in both literature and
thought. Romanticism, according to Webster?s Dictionary, is defined
as ?a literary movement (as in early 19th century Europe) marked
especially by an emphasis on the imagination and emotions and by the
use of autobiographical material.? Although this may be true, there
is no single commonly accepted definition of Romanticism, but it has
some features upon which there is general agreement. First, it
emphasized upon human reason, feeling, emotion, and expression
(Compton?s Interactive Encyclopedia, ?Romanticism?) while emphasizing
the love of nature, beauty, and liberty. (Leinward 528-529) Thompson
defines Romanticism as ? a major literary and cultural movement? that
was inspired by the imaginations, inner feelings, and emotions of the
Romantics. (895)
If one term can be used to describe the forces that have
shaped the modern world, it is Romanticism. (Peyre, 2) Romanticism
has had such a profound effect on the world since the late 18th
century that one author has called it ?the profoundest cultural
transformation in human history since the invention of the city.?
(Compton?s Encyclopedia, ?Romanticism?)
Harvey and Heseltine state that ?The outezding
characteristic of 18th-century French literature had been attached to
reason…. About the turn of the century…. literature became a
matter of senses and emotions.? (633) They also say that the
movement of Romanticism ?gave practical expression to the new
spirit…? because it recognized that the bounds on literature were
?too rigid?. (634)
There are many direct relations how the French Revolution
influenced the French Romanticism that followed it in the Nineteenth-
century.
The French Revolution had a major impact on the timeline and
progression of Romanticism. Vinaver states that ?Neither a revolt or
a reaction, Romanticism was a revolutionary fulfillment… And this in
turn explains why the European event known as the French Revolution is
at once the climax [of Romanticism]…It?s [French Revolution} date,
1789, conveniently divides the Pre- Romanticism [era] from the full
flowering of the new culture.? (6) Romanticism starts in about 1774,
but does not take off until the last decade of the 18th- century, the
same time as the Revolution.
The French Revolution provided for many of the problems and
basis for many Romantic literary works. First of all, the political
change brought by the Revolution, along with the intellectual
reverberations brought upon Romanticism. (Harvey and Heseltine 634)
Also, Thompson states that ? [Romanticism was] shaped by the ideals of
the French Revolution.? (895) Finally, Vinaver declares that the
Revolution served as ?a great source of the problems and tendencies of
Romantic proper.? (6)
The Revolution also inspired many writers to write
romantically. Peyre points this out when he says that it is wrong to
call writers ?revolutionaries? but when he writes about revolution-
inspired works, he states: ?in almost all of them [revolution-
inspired romantic writers] could be detected a feeling of
revolt…inspired by passion and directed against morals which were
considered too constraining.? (59) This shows how the writers stood
for and supported the revolution that had occurred forty years before.
Thompson makes a clear point along this line when he states that
?Romanticism was a major literary and cultural movement that emerged
out of the French Revolutionary spirit of the late 1700?s…? (895)
In France, the Romantic Poets, especially Victor Hugo and
Alfred de Vigney, gave their attention towards the problems arising
out of the French Revolution. (Peyre 59) Alfred de Musset wrote
philosophically moving lyrics. (Compton?s Interactive Encyclopedia
?French Literature?) Alphonse de Lamartine ?delicately analyzed his
own emotions?. (Compton?s Interactive Encyclopedia ?French
Literature?) Joseph de Maistre, another major figure whose strong
political views made him totally oppose the war, still took the
Revolution in to consideration when writing. (60) Leinward supports
this idea when he says ?Poets were moved by the great events of their
lives, including the French Revolution.? (528)
Hugo, the greatest poet of the 19th century France, perhaps of
all French Literature, was the major figure of the Romantic Movement.
(Harvey and Halestine 350) His Hernani helped win the revolt against
the classic rules of literature. (Compton?s Interactive Encyclopedia,
?French Literature?) His most famous work, Les Miserables, was a
novel about the suffering of humanity during the Revolution.
(Leinward 529)
Vigney, a poet, dramatist, and novelist, played a large role
in the Romanticism of the 1820?s. His play, Chatterton, dramatized
the misfortune of the poet in a ?materialist and pitiless? society.
(Compton?s Interactive Encyclopedia ?Vigny?)
Alfred de Musset?s philosophical poetry played a major role in
the Romanticism of the 1820?s. (Compton?s Interactive Encyclopedia
?French Literature?) Harvey and Heseltine say that ?Musset is usually
classed with Hugo, Lamartine, and Vigny as one of the four great
figures of the Romantic Movement…? (Harvey and Heseltine 502) His
lyrical poetry mixed suffering and passion such as in Le Souvenir.
(502)
Lamartine, described by Harvey and Heseltine as ?one of the
four great poets of the Romantic Movement? (390), expressed his
appreciation for nature as a ?reflection of his own moods? in his
Meditations poetiques. (390) This shows how Romantic poets could
display their love for nature and human qualities of thought at the
same time.
Joseph de Maistre whose ?inconsistent and impassioned ideas
[about the Revolution] influenced Vigny, was impressed by the divine
greatness of the Revolution….? (Peyne 59) The Revolution and the
idea how it was ?controlled by a mighty force? inspired him to write
and celebrate it as being divine in Te Deum. (59)
The research presented in this paper has shown that the French
Revolution of 1789 greatly influenced the Romantic literature of the
proceeding 19th century France. The French cultural values before and
during the revolution have been presented. The different aspects of
Romanticism have been reviewed in detail. Then relations with
examples between the Revolution and Romanticism were presented. In
closing, I have shown how the French Revolution has had a remarkable
effect on French Romantic literature in the 19th century.