Enlightenment/Romanticism Essay

The age of man is rife with varying motivations and personal reasoning. Over millions of years, life shifted from mere survival, with our minds drawn to food and shelter, into times of political intrigue and welfare reform. Buried in the layers, the Age of Enlightenment and the (difficult to define) Age of Romanticism are found. Within these two periods are some of our history’s most profound shifts in thinking. The Age of Enlightenment brought scientific reasoning to the forefront of everything. Life was distinct, understandable and predictable. Man contemplated his purpose empirically, studied methodically to come to a true conclusion. According to Anne Branham, the enlightenment allowed our founding fathers to question man’s natural rights in the world of the living. She uses Benjamin Franklin as the incomplete figure of true enlightenment. The one man who had his hands into all things scientific and technological fought actively for the â€Å"earthly rather than heavenly rewards† (55). Our most important living document, the American Constitution, finds its epicenter in the freedom to choose our own representation after careful contemplation and consensus-driven selection (59). Paintings reflected life as a physical entity. Portraits of people became the chosen artwork of the day, a marking of life in that moment. American History portraits painted by John Trumbull show the events in a concise manner, the emotions of the people stern and musing. Other artists, to include Anton Van Maron and Antonio Visentini, of this period (late Enlightenment) follow this same theme of capture rather than sensitize (GroveArt Online). Writers such as Locke, Paine, and Smith questioned preconceived beliefs, broke them down in their parts, studied them empirically, then transformed them into new ideals and theories; changing the way things were done for centuries. Their articulations of thought changed the way business and politics were conducted, a system we still hold to today. Burnham suggested when we take a good look at these writers (Locke in particular) we can see the seed of transformation that inspired Thomas Jefferson (58). The line between the Enlightenment and Romanticism appears quite blurred. It is not as though humankind stopped short all of a sudden and agreed to change their thinking. What is evident, however, is that change took place. Today, we are no longer as ideal in questioning what is right for man. This period began as a revolt of sorts against the aristocracy and their accepted norms. People began to concern themselves with emotions and the feelings of things. Psychologists such as Freud and Jung came into play. Not only what is wrong with you, but also why, and how does it feel to have that problem? Peckham questions the validity of an actual movement in that the need and subsequent fight for revolution does not in fact mean an actual change in thought amongst the world’s people. Was there in fact a change in mind away from the scientific and toward the ideal and the emotional (6). In terms of government, America found itself growing out of control. States began to fight over the issue of slavery and valuing one man’s right to property over another man’s right to dignity and the ‘pursuit of happiness’ as it were. Civil War breaks out, the basis set against the colder ideas of the Enlightenment. These ideas one can conceivably see as justifying slavery if numbers add up. Authorship offered a new selection during this era, the novel. Mary Shelley writes about the timeless battle of man versus nature with her creation of â€Å"Frankenstein.† Man’s emotional struggles in life marked the center of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, Jane Austen’s Emma, and Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. Peckham, writing in the time of Picasso, states: â€Å"Picasso has in his painting expressed profoundly the results of the freedom that romanticism has given to the creative imagination, but he is detested by most people who have seen his cubist or post-cubist painting – as well as by a great many who has not. He is at home in the universe, but not in his society† (21). This simple statement takes us back to a time when the questioning of fundamental things, like shapes and colors, was not appreciated. One forgets Picasso died in 1973 – only 33 years ago. Although these two distinct ages followed each other in general timeframe, there are some obvious similarities. In some ways, the transcendentalists, modernists and post-modernists, have all maintained the basic trend in life, which is to ask questions and present the answers in a way that society will gain from them as well. The questioning being the most serious of crimes against the calm nature of a society, with the actual answer following a close second. The difference lies in the questions asked, the answer given and the format preferred. For each successive generation, the questions drive a little deeper, the context of the situations a little more complicated. The answers are increasing more personal, much to the chagrin today of the older citizens. Art today is far racier and stressing in it nature. Artists have the freedom to push the observer to his or her max. Life seems to be struggling toward a certain height where all questions are ok, all answers accepted. Works Cited Branham, Anne K. â€Å"Teaching the Enlightenment in American Literature: Shedding Light on Faith and Reason.† The English Journal 87.3 (1998): 54-59. GroveArt Online. (18 Oct 2006). Peckham, Morse. â€Å"Toward a Theory of Romanticism.† PMLA 66.1 (1951): 5-23.